Unwanted Allegiance
by KonekoChan11
Summary: (AU) Kagome joins the army to find her brother (Kouga) so that she can save the Shrine. Extended Summary inside. Rated for Language and some scenes.
1. Prelogue

Chap1  
  
Alo! KonekoChan11 here to satisfy ur fanfic needs! This is my 3rd fanfic, Unwanted Allegiance. I'm just writing a lil bit now. .. . so u guys can get a taste of wat's to come. Its going to be a lot darker, sadder, and less light-hearted than the last one, so. .. yea. If u don't like this sorta story, then u don't hav to read it.  
  
EXTENDED SUMMARY: It's about a girl (kag), who is fed up of being prejudiced just because she's a girl. On her fifteenth birthday, she receives news at school that her family has died in an unfortunate car crash. When she thought things couldn't any worse, She's told that she's unable to inherit the shrine as well, seeing as her brother (kouga) has joined the army. They need a male Higurashi at the shrine to continue the family line, or else the shrine will be handed over to the next family in line.  
  
Wanting to prove herself, Kagome devises a plan to find her brother, and, in turn, get back the shrine. Suddenly she's in for more than she bargained for when her plan goes completely off track. What will Kagome do when she finds her brother? How will she cope with being in the army? Read on!  
  
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Kagome Higurashi stood in front of her mirror, taking a last, remorseful look at her beautiful raven black hair. It shone in the afternoon light, creating a halo-ish effect that just screamed at her, "Don't do it!!"  
  
"It's for the best," said Kagome, reassuring herself more than telling off her hair. She breathed deeply and slowly, holding back tears.  
  
She bit her lip as she tied back her hair in a ponytail, knowing that it would probably be the last time. Kagome looked back up at herself, and stared stonily at her locks. Then, with all the courage she could muster, she lifted up her ponytail and snip! Down fell her hair, onto the small towel she stood on.  
  
The result of the scissors was somewhat. . . .erratic. . . . but there were worse haircuts on boy's heads around here. Stepping off the towel, she picked it up and emptied the contents into a small bag, which she placed at the bottom of her bag along with a few other precious items. On top of these she packed some spare clothes she nicked from Kouga's room and some food to last her out the day.  
  
Her hand stopped as it brushed something when she reached for a pair of tattered jeans. Looking up from her bag, she saw it was a photo of the whole family, on the day her brother Kouga had left to enlist in the army.  
  
"Mama. . . . Souta. . . . Jii-Chan. . ." Kagome picked up the photo and stared at it mournfully, knowing that she could never heard Souta's whining ever again, nor could she listen to her Jii-chan's weird stories, or even hear the sound of Mama greeting her as she came home. She remembered the day they told her clearer than anything in her life.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Ah! Kagome-chan! Tanjyobi omedeto!"[--happy birthday] Hojo rode past her on his bike, throwing her a red box on the way. Kagome opened it, to find a black ceramic cross inside it. Hojo was always giving her religious stuff like that, hoping that she'd be 'cured of all her sins'.  
  
"Doumo, Hojo-kun!" Kagome called to him, and stuck the cross in her bag as she walked past the school gates.  
  
"Kagome-chan!!! Tanjyobi omedeto!!!" Suddenly people, all giving her gifts at the one time, swarmed her. Stuttering thanks, she walked away from the pack with arms full of boxes. After managing to stuff her presents into her shoe locker, she headed to class.  
  
"Will class 3-E's Kagome Higurashi please report to the office. I repeat, will class 3-E's Kagome Higurashi please report to the office." The voice echoed somewhat hollowly through the hallways. Kagome sighed impatiently and went to the office, wondering what they could possibly want at this time.  
  
"Ah, Higurashi-san, a phone call for you," the PA announcer pointed towards a grey telephone on the table beside her, off the hook and waiting.  
  
"Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Higurashi-san? Um. . . This is Jyuushi Kimiko from the um. . . the um. . . . the morgue. . . ." said a voice on the other line.  
  
"Ah, hai. Is there any particular reason you called me?" Kagome tried to be polite, but it was hard being impatient and polite at the same time.  
  
"I give you my deepest sympathies, but. . . . it seems your family has been involved in a car crash. . . . ."  
  
Kagome suddenly forgot about being impatient. "What? What happened? Are they okay?"  
  
"A. . .According to the forensic results. . .there was no chance of survival. . . . "  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Kagome's vision was blurred as tears fell from her eyes onto the glass of the picture. ~Ack! No! There's no time for this!!~ Kagome quickly rubbed away her tears with her sleeve and put the photo on the ground next to her.  
  
Quickly she threw in the rest of her stuff and slung the backpack over her shoulder and stood up. Taking one last look at her family portrait, she pushed it over so that it lay face down on the floor, where she couldn't see it.  
  
"Itekimasu. . . ." she whispered as she left her house for the last time.  
  
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Ok! There's ur lil sampler! If u want more, R+R! Other chaps will probably be 4-5 times longer than this, just so u kno. . . . 


	2. Hirosashi Kumoge

Chap2  
  
I forgot to mention before, this fic is based on a book I read, Montrous Regiment by Terry Prachett. I'll try to not put in too much Japanese, but if the temptation is too much I guess I'll hav to. =P I've changed Japan a bit, so now it's divided in 2 (kinda like korea) with the north region called Sengoku and the south Jidai. (=Pi think u all kno where I got them from) but its still the same sort of time, present day, except.. . . .. Japan's different. . . .  
  
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There was always a war.  
  
Jidai was possibly the most aggressive country in the whole world. Sengoku, their only adjacent country, was always having to put up with Jidai's lame excuses to start a war. Mostly it was about border disputes, similar to the way a man will argue with his neighbour about a hedge that's grown over to his side of a fence.  
  
Jidai didn't have much, no mountains, not much scenery, plus they were behind Sengoku technology-wise. Btu it didn't matter to them. It was the fact that it was theirs that Jidai fought with the rest of the world. Pride.  
  
And that's probably why Jidai's the least populated in the northern hemisphere. Young men would be enlisted, then wouldn't come back. Out of those who did come back, usually not enough of them came back. Jidai was losing husbands as fast as it was accumulating widows. There was always a war.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~^*~  
  
Kagome ran along an empty street as fast as she could. She wanted to get away fromt hat house as fast as she could. Not that she didn't want to save it, but it was full of memories that would be painful to remember.  
  
"Why!! Why me!!!" Kagome stopped running. It was almost dusk, and she'd been running around all day. The recruiting office was in the next town and she had to get there by tomorrow or else she wouldn't get into a regiment. And she needed to get into a regiment if she was to find her brother. She needed her brother to save the shrine. Saving the shrine would. . .would what? It wouldn't bring back her family. . . .which was all that she really wanted, even though it was impossible.  
  
Letting her bag drop to the ground, she collapsed to her knees, finally realising the pointlessness of it all. No one in the world cared about her, so why should she care about the world? Its not like saving the shrine would do any good for her, other than providing her with a place to stay. She should just let her uncle and aunt take the shrine. That way they'd all get what they want, right?  
  
"No! I won't give up like that!" Finding some strength, Kagome struggled to her feet again. "I'll show them. . . .I'll prove that I can make a difference. . . . even if it kills me. . ."  
  
Kagome grabbed her bag roughly and kept walking. After a short sleepover at a dumpy-looking hotel, she had arrived at the recruiting office by midday the next day. It was more of a grey, rectangular cement box set in the ground rather than a station for the army. Sighing with relief, Kagome trudged to it and knocked on the metal door. ~May as well slip into my 'young male army freak' mode.~ She slouched lazily and tried to look half asleep, trying to look as though she didn't really want to be there.  
  
The door swung out faster than any door she knew of, revealing a shotgun pointed straight at her face. On reflex, Kagome smacked the gun away and punched the person wielding the weapon where she thought his stomach would be.  
  
"Excuse me, but do you mind taking your fist away from me?" Kagome looked up and almost gasped. At the end of the gun was a tall, silver-haired, extremely handsome man, who just happened to be her future corporal. He was looking down at Kagome like she was lower than a worm.  
  
"Uh. . .. . . .uh. . . . ." Kagome tried to say "gomen nasai" but that's all that came out.  
  
"I supposed you're here to enlist? Well, get inside already." The man turned around and walked off. Kagome was still frozen on the spot, staring at where his face used to be. Quickly finding her senses, she walked through the door. At least, Higurashi Kagome walked towards the door, but the one who crossed the threshold was Hirosashi Kumoge.(She'd spent a few minutes back home making a different name for herself) ~Forget her~ Kagome thought to herself, ~Forget all about Kagome. Forget you were ever her. Be as lazier, more biased and ~  
  
Kagome walked down the stone corridor and came to a wooden door. Through it she could hear the noise of loud, bad, singing and liquid being splashed around. Trying to breathe through her mouth instead of her nose, she opened it and stepped through.  
  
On the other side of the door was a cosy but incredibly filthy bar. Round tables were scattered about, some turned over, as were the chairs. A few recently enlisted boys were singing half-known songs in the corner, flagons in hand and spilling everywhere. On the other side of the room, the man from outside was sitting with another regal sort of man, drinking wine with the air of someone who was only there because they had to be. Kagome took a deep breath, marched over, and made an attempt at saluting.  
  
"What do you want?" the regal man had another sip at his wine glass and gave Kagome a searching look.  
  
"Sarge, I just told you. Another new recruit." The silver haired man was scribbling at some paperwork, occasionally flicking through the pages.  
  
"Now corporal, leave the name-calling for the trainer. Is that so?" The sergeant looked at Kagome and grinned. He had blood crimson eyes that shone like frozen rubies  
  
"Yessir!" Kagome barked, like she'd seen in the movies.  
  
"Just like that?"  
  
"Yessir!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yessir!"  
  
"You don't want us to get you drunk first? Its traditional, you know," the sergeant nodded towards the drunken fools in the corner.  
  
"Nosir!"  
  
"I haven't told you about all the opportunities and good fortune, have I?"  
  
"Nosir!"  
  
"Did I mention how our spanking red uniform will mean that you'll have to beat off the girls with a stick?" he was smiling amusedly at Kagome, though he was enjoying saying all this, though sarcastically.  
  
"Don't think so, sir!"  
  
"Then why on earth are you here?"  
  
"Want to protect my country, sir! Fight for what made me what I am today, sir!"  
  
"You do?" The corporal looked up from his paperwork and raised an eyebrow at Kagome, but the sergeant seemed to not hear this. He looked Kagome up and down again, and Kagome got the impression that this man was not as drunk nor stupid as he looked.  
  
"Upon my oath, Corporal Sesshoumaru, I think what we've got here is a good old-fashioned -patriot-!" he said, searching Kagome's eyes for something. "Well, you've come to the right place kid! Papers!"  
  
Corporal Sesshoumaru handed the sergeant a sheaf from the pile beside him. The sergeant snatched the pen from the corporal and wrote something at the top of the page. "You know who we are?"  
  
"The seventh foot, sir. Light infantry, AKA the Black Shroud, sir." Relief bubbled through Kagome; she'd obviously passed some sort of test.  
  
"Absolutely correct. You've done your homework, I see! Finest regiment there is, in the finest army in the face of the earth! Keen to join, are you?"  
  
"K-Keen as I'll ever be, sir!" said Kagome, well aware of the cold eyes of the corporal on her.  
  
"Name," the sergeant picked up a pen but kept his eyes on the paper.  
  
"Hirosashi Kumoge, sir!"  
  
"Age?"  
  
"Seventeen this Friday, sir!"  
  
Sesshoumaru gave her a "pfft, as if" sort of look, but the sergeant wrote it down anyway.  
  
"Just sign here then," the sergeant turned the paper around and handed Kagome the pen. "By the way, you will always address me as Sergeant Naraku, got that? You belong to me now, so don't try and worm your way out of it if it gets too hard."  
  
"I won't, sir." Kagome scribbled her 'name' down with a flourish and handed the form and pen back to Naraku. Sesshoumaru pulled a square of paper to him and wrote something on it, then handed it to Kagome.  
  
"Get a beer. Trust me, you'll need it." His cold amber eyes pierced through her like a cold blade.  
  
"U. . .un," Kagome took the slip from Sesshoumaru and walked over to the bar. "One, thanks." She murmured, flicking the piece of paper at the barman. Without a word, the man served a foul-smelling liquid in a dirty glass and plonked it in front of her. After managing not to thank him and not to puke, Kagome picked it up and carried it over to a table, where she found another boy sitting by himself, away from the loud, tone-deaf idiots.  
  
"Oi," Kagome plopped herself opposite the boy. "What's up with you?"  
  
"Oh. . . .nothing. . . ." The boy appeared depressed, leaning on one hand and using the other to circle the rim of his tankard. "I'm Kazeshiwa Saito, by the way."  
  
"Hirosashi Kumoge," Kagome grunted, gritting her teeth and taking a swig of what was at best described as year-old apple juice.  
  
Suddenly there was a tremendous BANG, followed by a minute or so of silence, and then another BANG as the wooden door of the bar was knocked down. At the other end of the foot that had kicked it down was a polished- looking teen about Kagome's age and height. If Kagome looked a bit more serious, anyone could have sworn they were twins. The boy wore a slick black travelling coat, hood back, over a white shirt and pants. A cigarette protruded from the corner of his mouth, which he let drop to the floor and crushed it with the heel of his black boot.  
  
He took one look around the bar, eyes stopping on Kagome for a millisecond longer, then sighed and flicked back his short black hair. With a somewhat bored expression on his face, the boy walked over to Naraku and threw a box in front of him.  
  
"Aramani Ki-. . . . Aramani Kyou. . ." the boy grumbled, snatching the beer voucher from Sesshoumaru and walked over to the bar, getting his beer and sitting down between Saito and Kagome.  
  
"Kyou!" another, taller and more powerful-looking guy came in, looking straight at the boy who had just arrived. He was dressed almost exactly like him, except this man had a black ribbon around his neck. "They have handles for a reason!" Then, going over to the sergeant, "I'm so sorry about Kyou, s. . .I mean, he has a slight rebellious streak in him. . . ." For a man who looked so deadly and powerful, he talked nicely.  
  
"I see. . . .." replied Naraku slowly, writing down Kyou's name, "And who are you?"  
  
"I'm Kyou's caretaker, Gureto Kiru." He said with his deep voice, but smiled all the same.  
  
"Right. Why are you here?"  
  
"To take Kyou home, of course!"  
  
"Why have you got that ridiculous ribbon around your neck?" said Naraku, finally looking up.  
  
"Oh! Its part of my probation from blood. You see, I have this. . . . tendency. . . . to spill blood where its not needed. . . ." Kiru's fingers twitched, apparently involuntarily. "Black Ribboners are more common around the vampire community, but I thought I may as well give it a shot."  
  
". . . . ." The corporal and sergeant sat, stunned, staring at Kiru with renewed opinion and fear.  
  
"Anyway, can I take Kyou?" Kiru smiled charmfully.  
  
"I'm not going back!!" Kyou stood up furiously, "I don't care what He says!"  
  
"Alright, alright," Kiru waved an impatient hand at Kyou. "I'll enlist, then. Is that okay, sir?" Kiru glanced at Naraku.  
  
"Uh. . .. yeah! Sure! Why not. . . . . ." Naraku shuffled about the table busily, looking for another enrolment form. "Ah. . .just fill these out. . . ."  
  
"Who's 'He'?" Kagome leaned towards Kyou and whispered to him curiously. "I mean, not Kiru, the other guy you referred to before. . ."  
  
"My. . . . my stepfather. . ." Kyou glared at Kiru ditestfully.  
  
"Oh. . . ." Kagome thought that she shouldn't ask anymore.  
  
"OOOiii!!" one of the drunken boys from the corner came over and sat opposite Kyou. "Washh shhur name, shhranger?"  
  
Kyou twitched slightly.  
  
"C'mn. . . .dunn be shhhy. . . .we ishh all friendsh. . .. I'm Otsu. . . . ." The boy then began laughing uncontrollably, as though just saying his name was the most hilarious thing in the world.  
  
Kyou leaped over the table and smacked the drunk squarely across the jaw, leaving the boy on the floor and Kyou kneeling on the table, getting his balance.  
  
"I can't stand a drunken fool, especially one who reminds me of 'Him'," Kyou spat on Otsu and left the bar, via the doorless doorway.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Kumoge-kun! Get up!" Saito threw a pillow at Kagome.  
  
"Mm.. . . ? What. . . ? Oh. . . five more minutes. . . ." Kagome rolled over on her itchy wool matress, trying to get back to sleep.  
  
"Get up, lazy ass!" Saito put her foot on Kagome's bed and pushed her friend off it.  
  
"I'm up! I'm up!!" Kagome sat up on the floor. "Saito-kun, you're always up so freakin early. . ."  
  
It had been 3 days since Kagome had joined the army and so far, it wasn't all too bad. Though she must admit the food was less than good, and the beds were like trying to sleep on dried out grass, it was still liveable. The other boys in her regiment were Takutei Hiro, Shikotai Maru, Sawaruto Shinto and of course Hadete Otsu.  
  
Naraku had marched them to a training facility, which was situated close to the peak of Mount Hakurei, a nearby mountain. In the freezing cold they would do the same thing everyday; wake up, run a lap of the training facility, eat breakfast, then hiking and climbing for the rest of the day, with stops at 12 and 6 for lunch and an afternoon break. Dinner was served at 9pm, though it was not much to look forward to. Sesshoumaru would be there 24/7, watching your back constantly. Though he wouldn't actually do anything, he'd give you a 'I'm so much more superior than you, you'll never make it past the first week,' sort of look, which was incredibly demeaning.  
  
But today would be different - there would be a surprise for them all.  
  
"ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, I WANT YOU UP AN OUT OF HERE IN 20 SECONDS!" bellowed a loud voice as the doors to the bunker they slept in were flung open.  
  
In an instant the bunker was full of more confusion than a dog thrown into a pit full of cats. Eveyone's (excluding Kagome, Saito and Kyou, who had been up for a while and were fully awake) bodies seemed to be following the voice directly, instead of waiting for the brain to sort out which muscle does what.  
  
Kagome stood up on her bed, taking pity on all her bunker-mates, and whistled loudly through 2 fingers.  
  
"Oi! Matte!!!" That seemed to wake everyone up. "Think about what you have to do first, THEN do it, dumbasses!" Kagome added the insult at the end, so as to sound more. . . 'male'. . . .  
  
"Who're you, RUNT, givin' orders to -my- regiment?" the man who had yelled before walked in. He had silver hair and amber eyes, like Sesshoumaru, but he had an army-print bandanna over his head and he looked younger and rougher that the corporal.  
  
"Hirosashi Kumoge. And who are YOU to just walk in here and yell orders while most of us are still half-asleep?" Kagome sneered in satisfaction. After all of Sesshoumaru's demoralising glares, she needed to vent her anger at someone, and this guy who looked almost like him was perfect for the job.  
  
"Corporal Inuyasha. Your new corporal. My brother Sesshoumaru got promoted, so I got to take over. And if you don't like it, talk to Sergeant Naraku." Inuyasha smirked superiorly.  
  
Kagome growled on the inside, but couldn't help noticing how cute this guy was. ~Wait, you're a GUY remember?!!?~ her mind reminded her.  
  
"Inuyasha? Dog monster? What messed up mother did you have, that gave you a name like that, -sir-?" Kagome hopped off her bed. ~He wants me out in 20 seconds, fine.~ Kagome whisked around her bed at lighting speed, making her bunk and pulling her uniform over her singlet and shorts, which she had worn to bed. To stop suspicion, Kagome had bound her chest the day before she left.  
  
When she was done, Kagome had gone out of the bunker and was waiting by the door in attention.  
  
"Very good, Hirosashi. I guess I'll have to keep an extra eye on you. But as always, I've got to careful, ne? Some things aren't always what they seem. . . ." Inuyasha told her quietly while they were waiting for everyone else to get out. Then, as the first few stumbled out of the metal shed of a bunker, he raised his voice and yelled, "COME ON YOU TURTLES!!! MY GRANDMA COULD GET OUTTA THAT HELLHOLE FASTER THAN YOU!!! DOUBLE TIME PEOPLE!!!"  
  
Kagome could have sworn that Inuyasha had winked at her.  
  
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myaaaa~~! First chappie up!! R+R and I'll write more!! 


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